Memory

Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Memory involves encoding, the process of receiving and processing information.
Storage refers to retaining information in the memory for future use.
Finally, memory involves retrieval, or recalling the information when it’s needed.

Atkinson and Shiffrin’s Multi-Store Model of Memory includes three separate components: the sensory register, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM).
The sensory register holds raw sensory data for a very short time.
Information must be paid attention to in order to move into STM.
STM can only hold a limited amount of information (approximately 7 items) for a limited time (usually 18-20 seconds).
Rehearsal can maintain information in the STM or help it move into the LTM.
LTM has a virtually unlimited capacity and potentially lifetime duration.

Episodic memory involves personal experiences and specific events, organised by time and context.
Semantic memory involves general knowledge and facts about the world, which is organised by meaning.
Procedural memory involves knowledge about how to do things - skills and habits that we perform without conscious thought.

Baddeley and Hitch’s Working Memory Model depicts how STM is a dynamic process, not just a static store.
It consists of the central executive, the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad and the episodic buffer.
The central executive is involved in the decision making and coordinating the operations of the two slave systems.
The phonological loop involves auditory information and preserves the order of information.
The visuo-spatial sketchpad processes visual and spatial information.
The episodic buffer serves as a temporary store for information, integrating and manipulating material in working memory.

Interference theory asserts that forgetting is not a matter of decay but comes from competition among related memories.
Proactive interference refers to old memories interfering with new ones, while retroactive interference denotes new memories disrupting the recall of old ones.
Retrieval failure explains forgetting as a failure in the process of retrieving the memories, due to lack of appropriate cues.

Eyewitness testimonies can be heavily influenced by external factors, leading to constructive memory where the individual ‘constructs’ the memory rather than recalling factual details.
Misinformation effect refers to the retroactive interference where false post-event information affects the recall of the original event.
Methods such as cognitive interviews aim to increase the accuracy of eyewitness testimonies by using various techniques such as reinstating the context and report everything recall.